Cisco and Apple deem WiFi on 2.4GHz no longer suitable for business use

Cisco and Apple deem dual-band WiFi and 2.4GHz-only no longer suitable for business use due to the congestion on the 2.4GHz band. They strongly advise companies to switch to exclusive use of the 5GHz band.

Cisco and Apple push for leaving Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz in Enterprise Best Practices for Apple Devices on Cisco Wireless LAN, published this week. “Cisco and Apple strongly recommend using a 5GHz-only 802.11a/n/ac network layout for all Apple devices. There are no recommendations for 2.4GHz-only or dual-band networks,” the statement read. document.

The companies point out that there are far fewer 5GHz channels in use than 2.4GHz channels and more channels are available for reuse networks. In addition, the 5GHz channels would suffer less from interference from devices operating on the 2.4GHz frequency, with Cisco citing bluetooth, video cameras and microwave ovens as examples.

The crowds on 2.4GHz have been considered a problem for some time. In 2013, the Telecom Agency warned that business processes could be endangered due to the overloaded 2.4 GHz band. The proliferation of hotspots and increased data traffic is causing congestion on 2.4GHz.